Fifa U17 World Cup: Nigeria the youngest, Germany the oldest (Average age of squads)

According to this goal.com report, Nigeria is going to Chile with the youngest team of the tournament. Weird right?

Well, coach Emmanuel Amuneke's team as an average age of 16.42. Read the full report below.

The stage is set for the sixteenth edition of the Fifa U17 World Cup
with all the participating teams submitting their final list for the
championship. With an average age of 16.42 years, Nigeria are taking the
youngest bunch of players to the championship in which they have won
four times.

Despite placing fourth at the African U17
Championship, coach Emmanuel Amuneke has kept faith in majority of the
players that played in Niger Republic – with Kelechi Nwakali and Victor
Osimhen leading the pack.

Germany, on the other hand, have the oldest squad, with an average age of 17.0 years, just ahead of Russia, Belgium and Mexico.

Average age of each 2015 U17 World Cup squad

Team

Youngest player

Oldest player

Average age

Argentina

Luis Olivera (16)

Marcos Peano(17)

16.8

Chile

Macelo Allende (16)

Yerko Leiva (17)

16.6

Croatia

Matej Hudećek (16)

Adrian Šemper (17)

16.9

Nigeria

Edidiong Essien (15)

Orji Okwonkwo (17)

16.42

USA

Tyler Adam (16)

Joe Gallardo (17)

16.9

Brazil

Léo Santos (16)

Leandro (17)

16.9

England

Herbie Kane (16)

Chris Willock (17)

16.8

South Korea

Kim Jung-min (15)

Lee Sang-min (17)

16.8

Australia

James Delianov (15)

Josh Hope (17)

16.6

Mexico

Edwin Lara (16)

Fernando Hernández (17)

16.9

Belgium

Dante Rigo (16)

Ismail Azzaoui (17)

16.9

Ecuador

Byron Castillo (16)

Jhonner Montezuma (17)

16.9

Costa Rica

Miguel Aju (15)

Ian Smith (17)

16.8

Germany

Dominik Franke (17)

Salih Özcan (17)

17.0

Honduras

Javier Delgado (16)

Darixon Vuelto (17)

16.6

North Korea

Pak Yong-gwan (16)

Jong Ju-song (17)

16.6

Russia

Andrei Kudriavtchev (16)

Nikolay Prudnikov

16.9

France

Dayot Upamecano (16)

Jeff Reine-Adelaïde (17)

16.6

Mali

Fofana Mamadou (15)

Zoumana Simpara (17)

16.43

Syria

Mohammed Khoja (16)

Hassan Damen (17)

16.8

Paraguay

Ricardo Gabazza (16)

Blas Riveros (17)

16.8

New Zealand

Wali Mohammadi (16)

Oliver Ceci (17)

16.6

South Africa

Wiseman Meyiwa (15)

Nelson Maluleke (17)

16.7

Guinea

Alhassane Soumah (15)

Jules Keita (17)

16.7

Hosts Chile have gone for a mix of players between 16 – 17 years as
coach Miguel Ponce has included 13 players who are 17, while Macelo
Allende, Simón Ramírez and Luis Ureta bring the average down to 16.6.

The award for tallest player at the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup goes to
New Zealand defender Hunter Ashworth, towering above all at 195cm.
Should the 17-year-old be at his best in Chile, chances are that he
might just stop all the attacking forays of opposing strikers.

Guinea’s midfielder Karim Conte is the shortest player in the competition at 140 cm.

Heading into the competition, some teams have adopted a more youthful
approach than others while most have gone for a blend of ages. After
the final on November 8 at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina Del Mar, we
will see which approach works best.